Blah, blah… sounded like a whole lot of deflection, which was something that worked very well on me. Deflection and distraction. Which happened then as the train-monster let out a loud whooshing sound, and steam suddenly filled the air above us. And I was back to staring at the beast. It looked like a massive, metal furline—one of those fuzzy, cylindrical-shaped bugs, with way too many creepy little legs. The train-monster had way too many legs too, but they were more like hollow metal wheels, hooking over the metal tracks that ran along the base of the bridge. Its body was hairless, too, the shape long and bulbous, with carts scattered back along the path which led out over the water and into the distance.
“Come on, Soldier.” Siret placed his hand on the small of my back, pushing me toward the door which was now open on the second carriage. “Time for a little trip into Soldel.”
My breath caught in my throat and I wondered if the air had gotten even thinner all of a sudden. There were three small steps leading up to the door, and I couldn’t stop thinking about what I was going to find inside.
“This is not natural.” I tried to backtrack, but Siret wouldn’t let me move an inch. “Like how does it move? Why is no one driving it like the carts? Why are no bullsen pulling it like the carts? Can’t we just take the damn carts?”
Arms wrapped around me and before I got a single answer to my very important questions, I was hauled up and into the dark interior. My shriek was stuck in my throat, but that didn’t stop my panicked hands from clawing at whichever sol held me.
“Pain will get you nowhere with me, dweller.”
Coen’s low, growly voice was enough to have my hands calming. My body calmed too. In fact … I felt downright calm as he strode with me down the cart, dropping me into one of the chairs which spanned along each side of the carriage. Yael smirked at me as I sat down, indicating that my sudden calmness had much more to do with his sneaky Persuasion than my own adaptability. A huge window stretched along the wall beside me, and I was gifted an absolutely jaw-dropping view of the valley below. And …wow, Blesswood was huge. Despite having been there for a few dozen sun-cycles now, I’d had no idea that it was that size. I certainly had not explored even a small percentage of it. But I had been to Topia, so I was officially the most well-travelled dweller in the world. Unless you counted the Jeffreys.
Warmth settled into the seat beside me, and I turned to find Rome. His huge body was blocking out the sight of his brothers, but somehow I knew they were sitting in the seats in front and behind me.Thanks, soul stealers.
I turned back to the view, pressing my hands to the glass. “Is this what the gods see every sun-cycle?” My words were low, husky. For a click, I let myself bathe in the beauty which was right before me.
Rome leaned in closer, his head resting close to mine as he followed my line of sight. “The gods rarely look beyond their own noses. Sols are the same, always striving to become gods. That’s all either of them see. It’s always the dwellers who stop and appreciate the beauty. The gifts. Why do you think that is?”
I swivelled in my chair so that I could see him better. Rome pulled back a little, the intensity of his eyes dazzling. “What are you dweller? What makes you see the world the way you do?’
I found myself shaking my head, blinking a few times. “I … I don’t know. I guess when this is the best you can hope for, you appreciate it. Gods have Topia. Sols have the hope of Topia and dwellers … we just have Minatsol. This is the best for us.”
That was such an Emmy answer. She would totally be so proud of me right now. Rome didn’t say anything more, but I could tell my words had struck something within him. He seemed thoughtful, his brows furrowed and his eyes searching mine. I jumped as the train let out another loud whooshing noise, and with a jolt we started to move. I settled back into my seat, Rome did the same, and we both kept our heads turned toward the view. The valleys gave way to massive expanses of water, the same water we had crossed in the barges, but this time I got to really see the vastness. It formed a huge circle around Blesswood, the early morning rays of sun highlighted colours across the surface, shifting from the deepest cobalt blue, to the lightest of turquoises.
“I want to learn how to swim.” The demand burst out of me before I could think about it.
Yael’s head appeared above the seat in front of me. “Is this another excuse for you to take your clothes off?”
I glared, narrowing my eyes as far as I could whilst still being able to see him. “No!I will be learning to swim fully clothed. I love clothes. I’m never taking my clothes off again.”
Siret’s mutters drifted up then; he must have been sitting beside Yael. “That’s really disappointing, Soldier.”
Crossing my arms, I dismissed them all, and focused on my water. Unlike the Abcurses, I was going to claim that beauty. It was worth claiming.
Eighteen
The train ridewas close to the most awesome thing that I had ever done in my life. Sitting just behind my first view of Topia. Topia was more beautiful, but it also had asshole gods and Jeffreys. Neither of which were comfortable to be around. On the train, it was just me and the Abcurses, and a view which drifted from one beauty to the next. The metal beast climbed up the cliff with the multitude of waterfalls, across the plains of Blesswood’s territory, and then into the rolling hills of Soldel.
A crowd of sols and dwellers were on the platform when we emerged. Siret, Yael, and Coen went out first, and I was next, followed by Rome and Aros. The sols appeared to be waiting for the train. I supposed that it would continue on to Dvadel and Tridel, after leaving Soldel. The dwellers were there to load bags and to clean the station. I knew this because that’s exactly what the few dwellers present were doing.
Of course, there was no time to stop and chat—we had ass-kicking to do and sols to get revenge on. The usual for a sun-cycle with the Abcurses. They moved as a single unit of zero-fucks-given through the crowd. They didn’t get out of the way for anyone … actually they didn’t even have to attempt to avoid anyone, since sols and dwellers alike moved for them. They were striding quickly and with purpose—two things that would have tripped me up, if it hadn’t been for the fact that I was wedged right in the centre between Aros and Yael, both of whom had a hand on me, half carrying me.
We moved off the train platform, which I now noticed was located right on the side of the Minateurs’ training facility: the shiny, extra-perfect building I remembered from my journey with Emmy. We didn’t go inside, but passed the wide-open double-doors, and I could see enough to know it’s interior was not quite as fancy as some of Blesswood’s academy buildings, though it came close. Definitely designed by the same sols. No time to think about that though, we were out in the streets now, walking the same path I had driven in the bullsen cart with Jerath. I hadn’t seen that dweller-on-a-power-trip for a while. I wondered where he’d gotten to.
Rome and Siret had taken point now—I knew that because they told me, and since I had no idea what ‘point’ was, I just nodded and smiled.Seriously, was there a damn name for everything people did? Anyway, apparently ‘point people’ went in the lead and ran the risk of being taken out by angry Elowins. The Points veered off the path, and we all followed a few steps later. We now walked between small hut-style homes, and interspersed were some of those larger houses with the gates and fences. I still had no idea what they were trying to keep in … or out. Either way, this was a fancy part of town, even in the already-fancy Soldel.
Siret held up a hand and everyone knew that signal. Everyone except me, that was. When Point People hold up a hand, you stop. I, on the other hand, didnotstop and ended up crashing right into a pole.Where the hell did that come from?
As I rubbed my face, Aros lifted me up and into his arms. “Quiet,” he murmured into my ear, before he moved with his brothers backwards, right into the shadow of a huge house. “Minateurs on patrol.” The seduction-gifted sol added, before wrapping a hand around my mouth.
Come on, I wasn’t going to talk. Probably not anyways.
His chest moved in a silent laugh, his arm wrapping around me a little tighter. I rested against him, allowing the calming nature of his closeness to soothe my rough edges. I seemed to be more rough than smooth right now, and any comfort was good.
I finally picked up the sound of the patrol, a good five clicks after the Abcurses. I was totally built for this world of stealth. I was a little surprised that they were hiding, though. That didn’t seem like their style.
Coen answered that question once the five guards were past, and we were moving again. “We don’t want Elowin to be warned of our approach,” he said, his voice brittle. “She’ll run again and I’m not in the mood to track her down.”
